As he proudly displayed the flag for his ride to school Monday, he was joined by a parade of people on motorcycles. The group said the Pledge of Allegiance upon arriving at school.

“It means a lot to me,” a tearful Alicea told KCRA.

The school said the original ban of his flag was due to safety concerns. Denair Unified School District Superintendent Edward Parraz told KCRA the campus recently experienced racial tensions. He said some students got out of hand on Cinco de Mayo. He said some students displayed the Mexican flag, while others displayed American flags.

Alicea said Monday he is surprised by all the attention he is getting. “This is big,” Alicea said. “I didn’t think it’d get this big.”